Hasenhuttl accepts importance of midweek clash with rivals AFC Bournemouth

 

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl during the Premier League match between Southampton and West Ham at St Mary's Stadium. Photo by Stuart Martin..

RALPH Hasenhuttl accepted the importance of Wednesday’s clash with AFC Bournemouth but insisted he retains “all the belief” in what Saints are doing.

The St Mary’s side visit the Vitality Stadium five points behind their fellow south-coast Premier League rivals after 10 matches.

Bournemouth, first managed by Scott Parker before Gary O’Neil took over on an interim basis, were firm favourites for relegation before the season began.

They were defeated 9-0 by Liverpool but are the only team in the division to remain unbeaten since, despite a difficult summer of recruitment and many feeling they have a weaker squad.

Saints, who are in the bottom three with eight points, must start picking up victories and crucially against teams they are likely to be competing with come the end of the season.

"For us, it's a Premier League game and an important one,” Hasenhuttl said, asked if there is any added incentive given the locality and shared objectives of the clubs.

“We go there and I think we know that they are in good shape at the moment, but we go there like we have always gone into in the past with all the belief in what we are doing to make it a good evening for us.”

The meeting comes off the back of a 1-1 draw with West Ham United, at St Mary’s, that ended a run of four straight defeats in the Premier League for Hasenhuttl and Saints.

It could have been a first win since the August victory over Chelsea, after Romain Perraud put Saints ahead and Che Adams squandered two big chances.

"For everybody it is very frustrating because these are the moments where you can make a big step forward,” Hasenhuttl admitted.

“But it would still be a long way to go. There's no guarantee that you win games but it makes it a little bit easier. And then you can definitely play a little bit calmer but we are never in the situation."

He added: "Let's say every point we get is a point gained and we know that we need every point.

“We are now going to Bournemouth and then against Arsenal so another two games this week. We have to be ready for the Wednesday game, immediately focus is on the game and hopefully we can get a win there."

Story continues

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Jose Mourinho desperate to prove Romelu Lukaku right ahead of first ever Serie A meeting

Romelu Lukaku played under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and Manchester United, but now the pair are set to face off in a big early-season match in Serie A

After their time together in England, Lukaku and Mourinho will be on opposite sides on Saturday (

Image: Getty Images)

After just seven games of the Serie A season, this weekend's game between Roma and Inter Milan is already looking huge for both teams.

Europa Conference League holders Roma had been looking to build on last season's sixth place finish, but that's exactly where they sit in a congested table. Inter, meanwhile, have already lost ground after narrowly missing out on last year's Scudetto and sit a point behind the Giallorossi in seventh after losing their last three away games.

Both sides have turned to big names over the last two years in an effort to claim a title, with Roma appointing Jose Mourinho as manager in 2021 and Inter re-signing Romelu Lukaku on loan this summer after his difficult first season at Chelsea.

There's plenty of history between the pair, who worked together at two clubs in England, but Saturday's clash will be the first time they have faced off in Serie A.

While Lukaku and Mourinho most notably teamed up at Manchester United, after a £75m move in 2017, there was an argument that the manager was making up for lost time. It was Mourinho who sanctioned Lukaku's Chelsea exit back in 2014, after a successful loan at Everton, having given the Belgian a handful of games the previous season.

However, this wasn't a case of a manager expensively realising the error of his ways. Rather, Lukaku's comments about Mourinho point to a manager who understood what was best for the player at different stages of his career.

"I talked to the manager as well [about leaving], and while what he said was confidential It just underlined that he is the best coach I have worked with," Lukaku said upon moving to Goodison Park after impressing on loan at West Bromwich Albion. "Some beat about the bush, but he comes out straight and tells you what he thinks.

"As a player, that is what you want. The important thing, at 20, is to be playing, and while West Brom was an option, Everton was a better one."

Will Jose Mourinho turn Roma into title contenders? Have your say in the comments section

Lukaku and Mourinho first worked together at Chelsea nearly a decade ago (

Image:

Getty Images)

Mourinho's understanding of Lukaku can also be used to explain why the striker has been unable to make his second Chelsea stint a success. Despite impressing on his debut in a victory over Arsenal, his form soon tailed off amid suggestions he was being misused by then-manager Thomas Tuchel, and the writing was on the wall after an interview he gave to Italian media midway through the season.

Regardless of what you think about the merits of that Sky Italia bombshell, the comments from Lukaku's former manager continue to ring true and may point to Tuchel's struggles with the £97.5m man. While Tuchel has now left Stamford Bridge, Lukaku remains unlikely to return, and considering his popularity in Milan this might not be the biggest of surprises.

"[In his first spell] at Chelsea, he was still a kid," Mourinho told The Times in 2021, as Lukaku embarked on the impressive European Championships campaign which would prompt Chelsea to bring him back. "At Manchester United, he was still developing. At Inter he became the top man.

"He became loved - a big love from the supporters, love from teammates, great relations with the coach," the manager added. "He's a big guy, physically so strong, but there is also a kid inside who needs that love, needs that support, needs to feel important."

Romelu Lukaku has already got off the mark in his second Inter spell (

Image:

AFP via Getty Images)

Lukaku has missed the last month through injury, but reports in the Italian media suggest he will be fit to return against Roma. And when he does, he'll come up against another man who has reaped the benefits of Mourinho's managerial approach.

The Portuguese isn't for everyone, and there have been a number of players who haven't been receptive to his style of man-management. However, when it works, it really works.

Tammy Abraham has become the latest striker to enjoy his football under Mourinho, returning to the England fold in June after leaving Chelsea for Roma in 2021. The recall came after a 27-goal season in Italy - a high point in the 24-year-old's career - and the manager had a big part to play in that.

Tammy Abraham is benefiting from Mourinho at Roma (

Image:

AS Roma via Getty Images)

"There's a reason why I call him the best manager in the world," Abraham told talkSPORT in April. "He knows how to drive you, he knows how to get under your skin and he knows how to make you feel like a very special player at times.

"He'll never tell you but I always want to do my best for him. He pushes me to do my best. When I feel like I've done enough he tells me I have to do more. I experienced him when I was at Chelsea as a kid, I went to train with the first-team and he was always hard on me, he was always pushing me to better myself – I felt like when I did something right he'd tell me to do it better.

"That's exactly what I needed, that push and that drive, especially after the difficult season I had at Chelsea where I wasn't playing and getting much game time. To come here and have a manager like Mourinho to coach you, to believe in you only gives you more confidence."

Still, despite all of Abraham's goals last term, Roma were unable to make it back into the Champions League. They weren't even especially close in the end, finishing a full 10 points behind fourth-placed Juventus after turning their attention to Europe once the top four looked unlikely.

This season, competition for a place at the top table is no less fierce. Just five points separate the top seven, with Juve even further adrift, and it's anyone's title to win at this stage.

With Saturday's game pitting one of the world's most expensive strikers against a manager hailed as one of the best in the business, it's the kind of fixture both will be looking to win in order to demonstrate their credentials. Now it's time to see whether Mourinho - a Serie A champion with Inter more than a decade ago - can still compete with the best.

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Thiago Silva picks a side when asked about Neymar and Kylian Mbappe drama at PSG

Former Paris Saint-Germain star Thiago Silva has defended Neymar amid ongoing talk that the Brazilian superstar has fallen out with Kylian Mbappe.

PSG have made an electric start to the season, but their impressive form has been overshadowed by the fractured relationship between Neymar and Mbappe. It is believed that the high-profile duo have clashed on a number of occasions this term and the animosity between them has appeared to intensify in recent weeks.

PSG sporting director Luis Campos was allegedly forced to intervene when the duo became embroiled in a feud over penalty duties after Neymar refused to allow Mbappe, who had already missed a penalty earlier in the match, to take a second spot-kick in the 5-2 win over Montpellier back in August.

PSG boss Christophe Galtier did his best to cool talk of a feud earlier this month when he insisted that the pair were "good".

But Neymar has sparked fresh speculation over the pair's relationship following Brazil's 3-0 win over Ghana on Friday. The former Barcelona man appeared frosty when he was asked questions about Mbappe, replying "with Kylian?", before shrugging and adding, "I don’t" before walking off.

And now, Silva has waded into the debate over the pair's relationship. The Chelsea ace, who played alongside Neymar in Brazil's won over Ghana, told RMC Sport after the match: “I can’t talk about that [the relationship between Neymar and Mbappé]. I’m not inside PSG. I don’t know what exactly is going on. I can’t talk about Kylian. I can talk about Neymar who I know very well, he does everything to help his team.”

Join the debate! Do you think PSG can finally win the Champions League this year? Let us know here.

© Pro Direct Soccer France Chelsea and Brazil defender Thiago Silva has spoken out in defence of Neymar

Although Neymar seemed to be reluctant to talk about his relationship with Mbappe, the French striker opened up on their relationship last month.

Mbappe admitted that the duo have had ups and downs during their time together in Paris, but he stressed that the pair have a healthy level of respect for one another. Speaking in a press conference, the former Monaco man said: "To talk about Neymar, this is the sixth year, I think we've always had a relationship like this based on respect.

"But we've always had moments like this where sometimes we've had moments that were a bit colder and moments that were a bit hotter. There are times, you'll see, when we're the best of friends and sometimes we don't talk so much, it's the nature of our relationship that's like that." 

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